Association between body composition at term equivalent age and Bayley scores at 2 years in preterm infants

Objective: To evaluate whether in a historical cohort of preterm infants, body composition at term equivalent age (TEA) correlated with Bayley scores at 2 years of corrected age. Study design: Ninety-five preterm babies were admitted to our neonatal intensive unit and underwent air-displacement plethysmography assessment at TEA. Of these, 74 completed Bayley tests at 2 years. We used multiple linear regression analysis to assess the association of body composition with Bayley scores. Results: Mean gestational age and birthweight of our population were respectively 29.8 (±2.2) weeks and 1150 (±330) grams. Higher fat-free mass (FFM) z-score was associated with higher language (adjusted r= 0.28, p= 0.03) and motor composite scores (adjusted r= 0.33, p= 0.03) in both univariate and multiple regression analysis including birth weight, sex, maternal university degree, mechanical ventilation, and bilingualism. Conclusions: In our study FFM at term equivalent age was associated with higher Bayley composite motor and language scores at 2 years.